There’s a lot going on in the world of physical risk and vulnerability; it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the latest news and developments. We’ll keep you informed with the best content to keep your organization safe and secure. Check out the top news and headlines from the past month.

19-year-old arrested after beating up Miami Beach doctor at Mount Sinai Medical Center

From Local 10: A 19-year-old man was arrested Monday, October 14 after he was captured on surveillance video beating up an OB-GYN doctor at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, authorities said. According to authorities, Ventura Del Castillo Perez’s mother was a patient of Dr. Steven Silvers, and he was apparently upset because of the medication Silvers prescribed his mother.

Our take: This is a prime example of how consumer rage can affect professionals in the workplace. We’ve seen customers at restaurants attacking servers, but violence isn’t limited to fast food restaurants. Organizations of all kinds need to be aware of threats from clients.

Ohio Police officer swallowed whole by inflatable pumpkin

From Today: Earlier this month, a dashcam video showed an Ohio police officer arriving on the scene where a massive runaway inflatable pumpkin was completely blocking a road. As he tried to remove it, the pumpkin swallowed him whole. Eventually the officer broke free and the inflatable was returned to its owner.

Our take: We all love inflatables, but with great big inflatable pumpkins comes great big inflatable responsibility. You have to secure these things properly. If a pumpkin (or, next month, a snowman) gets away and causes an accident, you will be held liable — and that’s no treat.

It's Not Your Phone: Verizon Is Experiencing Network Outages

From Lifewire: Verizon experienced two outages in 10 days this month, due to service issues, according to the company. On September 30th, an outage affected several areas in the U.S. Large sections of the Verizon network were down for mobile customers, including many areas in the eastern U.S. A second outage hit on October 10, taking out service in the Great Plains region.

Our take: The latest outages have been troubling, and make me question whether they are in fact a carrier problem, or if they are related to a cyber attack. Whatever the reason, carriers must take care to keep our phones up and running.

Connecticut is the latest state to experience a 911 outage

From WTNH: 911 lines in Connecticut were down on October 22, making it the latest state to experience a 911 outage. Officials said the outage wasn’t an attack, but caused by a carrier’s

equipment failure. Outages have affected at least eight states this year, caused by aging and underfunded 911 systems across the country.

Our take: The 911 system is a critical piece of safety infrastructure, and has been since it was introduced in 1968. Being able to call one easy-to-remember number for all safety needs has saved countless lives in the more than 50 years that 911 has been active. However, in many places the system is old, and the funds to update it are locked up in legislative battles. Unless we want some areas of the country to return to the days of having to look up the number for police or fire, we must make updating our 911 system a priority.

How two Harvard students created doxing glasses as a ‘tool for good’

From Scripps News: Two college students are raising major privacy concerns online after releasing their side project being deemed “doxing glasses.” Harvard students AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio created I-XRAY, a software that can put a name to strangers' faces and subsequently gather their personal information from the internet. Ardayfio and Nguyen told Scripps News they created the project to highlight issues around privacy, particularly in a new technological age. Circadian Risk founder Daniel Young was interviewed about the glasses.

Our take: We’re always sharing our information with the world, on social media and just during daily life. Your information is already out there, and your face is literally out in the world. New technology like these glasses can be used for good, but it’s important to be aware how they might also be used by threat actors to cause harm. The first step is to understand where your data has been posted and what information of yours might potentially be exploited.

October’s Top Security Grants

Fiscal Year 2024 Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Swift Current: This grant aims to better align the delivery of FMA flood mitigation funding to the disaster survivor experience. The purpose of FMA Swift Current is to reduce or eliminate the flood risk to NFIP-participating communities and repetitive flood damage to structures and buildings insured by the NFIP following a flood-related disaster event, and to enhance community flood resilience within NFIP-participating communities. It does so by providing funding for mitigation opportunities immediately after a flood disaster event with the aim of delivering mitigation outcomes. Grant closes: January 15, 2026

The Nonprofit Security Grant Program – National Security Supplemental (NSGP-NSS): The Nonprofit Security Grant Program – National Security Supplemental (NSGP-NSS) supplements one (1) of three (3) grant programs that support the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) focus on enhancing the ability of state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as nonprofit organizations, to prevent, protect against, prepare for, and respond to terrorist or other extremist attacks. These grant programs are part of a comprehensive set of measures authorized by Congress and implemented by DHS to help strengthen the nation’s communities against potential terrorist or other extremist attacks. The NSGP provides funding to nonprofit organizations at high risk of a terrorist or other extremist attack for facility hardening and other physical security enhancements and activities. Grant closes: Jan 24, 2025

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About the Author

Daniel Young

Founder & Chief Innovation Officer

Daniel has been a security and risk advisor for more than 10 years, and is passionate about helping companies to better understand their risks to undesirable events on a daily basis. Dan previously served as the Regional Bioterrorism Coordinator for District 1 in Michigan, where he was instrumental in preparing communities for catastrophic incidents. He has also acted as the Private Security Liaison for the City of Lansing’s Critical Infrastructure Team, which identified and documented deficiencies in the city’s critical infrastructure.

He is a Co-Founder of the CSO Risk Council, a think tank of seasoned security professionals and thought leaders with extensive experience in managing the physical security and risks of large enterprises consisting of multiple sites and whose mission is to create a better process to develop and share innovative solutions and pertinent information with organizations to improve safety and security risk by providing a forum to discuss best practices and recommendations for specific risk scenarios and to network with other enterprise security professionals.